This event is our biggest fundraiser of the school year!
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Dear Amherst Alumni:
We are in the throes of the Amherst Operetta’s Annual Patron Drive, which raises funds for the Operetta by selling ad space in the program. The Operetta is able to exist each year because of, essentially, only two revenue streams that make the show possible: Patrons and Ticket Sales.
Our Development Team is led by Mrs. Jessica McLaughlin, assisted by Ms. Danielle Rodgers.
Our patron goal is $20,000. Last year we surpassed this goal, having raised approximately $20,750 in ad sales. The remainder of the budget is paid for by ticket sales. I anticipate the CATS budget to be approximately $35,000 – $40,000. To give you an idea of a few past shows:
- Phantom (the Operetta’s only other Lloyd Webber Musical) was still the highest to date at approx $57,000 in production costs.
- Last year’s Les Miserables cost approximately $56,200.
- TITANIC 2020 cost approximately $44,000
- Seussical 2023 was approximately $41,000
Link to the Operetta’s Patron Forms: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/15uEnuKB0Wjki9w9urG9Y0p2fWHTy9vdi?usp=drive_link
The link below will take you to the Operetta’s Annual Patron Spreadsheet, where you can see all of the current patron subscribers and the last 7 or 8 years (see YEAR tabs at the bottom of the page). From this document, the staff keeps track of every ad sale, large or small, and works to develop the program that is distributed when the audience arrives for the performances.
Operetta Annual Patron Spreadsheet
Any and ALL patrons help to keep the production going strong, purchase materials for the set, costumes, company events, and even compensate the staff, which is NOT covered by the ACSD. As I always articulate, the Amherst Operetta is nearly self-sufficient, run like a professional theatre company that produces one major production annually. These funds also support the Music Department Scholarships at the end of the year.
Thank you for your help keeping this great Amherst tradition alive and well! Your help is needed! Please, feel free to reach out to a local business, your workplace, etc., and solicit a patron in support of the Operetta! No patron is too small or too large, and your help is the most important of all!
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to: Justin Pomietlarz, Producer/Music Director: Jpomietlarz@amherstschools.org or Jessica McLaughlin, Patron and Development Manager: blettj@gmail.com
Thank you so very much for supporting our Amherst students! The Amherst Operetta is the OLDEST High School Music Theatre program in Western New York 1950 – 2025 – an astounding
76 annual productions!
With sincere respect and appreciation, Justin T. Pomietlarz
_________________________
Note from Mrs. McLaughlin:
Dear Amherst Family and Friends,
This year marks the 76th consecutive year of Amherst Central High School’s long tradition of exceptional musical theatre productions. We are sure that this year’s selection of CATS will carry on this fine tradition!
These shows exist in large part because individuals in our community recognize the educational benefits and entertainment value of the musical theatre experience and contribute financially to help cover the costs of the production. There are many costs associated with putting on a Broadway quality show such as fees for a professional stage director and choreographer, royalty fees, printing programs, costumes, makeup, lighting and set design.
We have met with Mr. Pomietlarz, producer and vocal director, and set a fundraising goal of $20,000. In order to meet this goal we need your help! We only have a few weeks to raise funds for this production.
In this email, you will find the Patron Drive forms to share with your favorite businesses and family/friends. We are also sharing a list of the Patrons that have donated in the past. If you see an unclaimed patron that you would like to contact, please feel free to do so! We also hope to grow our patron list so that more businesses can help us reach our goal! Please contact either of us if you have any questions or to share your ideas on how we can make this year’s Patron Drive a huge success.
Sincerely,
Danielle Rodgers (dwrpianist@gmail.com)
and Jess McLaughlin (blettj@gmail.com)
Co-chairpersons
Operetta Fundraising Committee
The Amherst Tigers Booster Club is pleased to recognize Bea Massman’s incredible accomplishments and dedication to the Central Amherst High School Tennis program.
IN MEMORY OF BEA MASSMAN 1912 – 1992
- First Woman to Coach Boys High School Varsity Tennis Team
- Coached Amherst High School to 16 Consecutive Undefeated ECIC Seasons
- Named New York State High School Coach of the Year – 1973
- Won 26 Buffalo City Open MUNY Tennis Titles
- Buffalo Tennis Hall of Fame – 2008
- Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame – 1991
- Amherst High School Athletic Hall of Fame (inaugural class) – 1990
- USA Badminton Hall of Fame – 1969
Please attend if you can.
James C. Lynch ’60
80, of Gravenhurst, Ontario passed away on Saturday October 29, 2022, peacefully with family at his side. He was born to parents James and Ann, on July 7, 1942, in Buffalo, New York. James graduated from Amherst Central High School and received Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Buffalo State University. He worked for the Trillium Lakelands District School Board as a teacher, Student Services Coordinator and Principal. He married Nancy, the love of his life, in 1965, who survives him. Jim is also survived by his brother Skip and wife Jill, by his son Michael and wife Kirstie, his daughter Krista and husband Mike, and grandchildren Andrew, Brett, Jake, Kyla and Hannah. Jim was predeceased by parents James and Ann, and sister Nancy. Jim was known for his love of badminton, tennis, gardening, music, cooking, singing and spending time with his family. He is a member of the Canadian Badminton Hall of fame and was an International Umpire during several World Championships. His favourite accomplishment was umpiring at the Barcelona and Atlanta Olympic Games and having the opportunity to umpire the Men’s Singles Gold Medal Match in 1996. The Family would like to thank the incredible Dr. Forrester, the staff of Granite Ridge Retirement Residence, the nurses and staff at Bracebridge Memorial Hospital and the truly amazing staff at Andy’s House for their compassion and making Jim comfortable in his final days. The funeral will take place on Saturday November 5th at 1:00pm at the Trinity United Church 290 Muskoka Rd. N, Gravenhurst ON with a reception following the service. In remembrance of Jim’s life, the family asks that any charitable donations be made to Andy’s House, Hospice Muskoka who operate primarily on donations. Personal condolences and memories may be shared at www.cavillfuneralhome.com
From brother Waldo “Skip” Lynch ’66:
I wanted to share some memories and accomplishments of my older brother Jim. My brother is in the high school athletic Hall of Fame and he is also in his college athletic Hall of Fame. Both of the these honors were achieved through playing tennis at a very high level.
Excerpt from the Buffalo State Athletics HOF
- During his college career, Lynch won the singles and doubles competition in the State College
Tennis Championships for 3 years. - Between 1957 and 1965, he won over 100 tennis titles in singles, doubles, and mixed competition.
Jim eventually gave up competitive tennis and concentrated on competitive badminton. This had everything to do with the fact that Nancy , the love of his life, was a competitive badminton player herself, and they could spend more time together.
For a number of years, my brother was ranked and considered one of the best badminton players in the world. He and his partner beat the number one team in the world, on their home court in China, twice. This was when he played on the Canadian national team.
Jim was a champion, tennis player, badminton player, husband, father, grandfather, and brother.
I will miss him very much.
https://buffalostateathletics.com/honors/hall-of-fame/james-c-lynch/89
Original Obituary:
https://www.legacy.com/ca/obituaries/thestar/name/james-lynch-obituary?id=39838174
March 1, 1933 – Jan. 23, 2023
John R. “Jack” Davis knew what it meant to give back to his community – literally and figuratively.
Trained as an engineer while completing his military service, he and a partner parlayed their industrial expertise and entrepreneurial spirit into founding a manufacturing company whose products are still used across the world.
Forty years later, he turned his attention to public service, unsuccessfully running for Congress four times in eight years to represent a district in Buffalo’s eastern suburbs that included Clarence and Newstead. And knowing how he got his own start in business, he gave back to his alma mater that launched his career, with a $5 million donation to University at Buffalo 13 years ago to fund construction of a new building.
He died Jan. 23 after a long illness. He was 89.
“He wanted to leave his legacy,” said his widow, Barbara. “He was kind and helpful to the community.”
Born in Pittsburgh to John R. and Norma Davis, he grew up in Amherst after his father’s employer, Westinghouse, moved his family to Buffalo after World War II. He graduated from Amherst Central High School in 1951.
In a biography posted on his political campaign’s old website, he recalled helping his father change piston rings on a 1935 Ford when he was 12 years old, and bolting a gas motor from a Maytag washing machine on the back of a wagon for his “first go cart” when he was 14.
He wrote that he “did fairly well in math and science,” enough to get into UB’s seven-year-old School of Engineering, where he started in mechanical engineering but switched to industrial, which “turned out to be a smart move” by preparing him for the future. He graduated in 1955, but had already spent four years as a Marine Corps reservist, having signed up while still in high school to meet the “Armed Service Requirement” for men.
He barely avoided the Korean War as his reserve battalion was activated, instead getting deferments to finish high school and then college, while getting officer training in the Marines from 1951 to 1954. “You may have heard stories about the tough training for enlisted Marines – it was tougher for officer training,” he wrote on his political bio. “They took a young boy and made him a man – tough, self-confident and a leader.”
After graduating from UB with a degree in industrial engineering, he still had to meet his military obligation, so he enrolled in Officer Candidate School and joined the Coast Guard, serving as a deck officer until 1958. That’s when he went to work for General Motors Corp.’s Tonawanda foundry, as a maintenance engineer. Three years later, he left and joined Carborundum Co. as a supervising sales engineer overseeing silicon carbide heating elements
He and a fellow engineer, Stan Matys, left Carborundum in 1964 to start their own company, called I Squared R Element Co., which makes silicon carbide and disilicide heating elements and hot surface igniters used in high-temperature electric furnaces and appliances. It’s the only U.S. manufacturer of its products.
(Barbara and Jack Davis Hall on UB’s North Campus in Amherst. | Derek Gee / Buffalo News)
The new firm, which they launched in Davis’ garage with just $20,000, competed against Carborundum and another multi-national company, but was profitable after just six months, while its two rivals were later acquired. Its first customer was Corning Glass Works, enabling it to move to a building in Tonawanda, then to Lancaster, and finally to its current site in Akron, where it employs 90 in 122,000 square feet.
“He loved his work, so it wasn’t work for him,” Barbara Davis said.
From 2004 to 2011, Mr. Davis ran for Congress for New York’s 26th Congressional District as a critic of free-trade policies – three times as a Democrat and once as an independent, including after the resignation of Chris Lee opened up the seat in 2011. He also successfully sued the Federal Election Commission, getting the “millionaires amendment” to the McCain-Feingold Act struck down as unconstitutional because it violated candidates’ First Amendment rights.
In 2010, Mr. Davis and his wife, Barbara, donated $5 million to UB’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, which named The Barbara and Jack Davis Hall in their honor. He also established an irrevocable trust to ensure that the company wouldn’t be sold and employees’ jobs were safe, and arranged for company profits to be used for scholarships to UB.
Mr. Davis is survived by his third wife of 30 years, Barbara; four sons, Jack, Bob, Al and Ace; two daughters, Jill Josephs and Star Davis; a brother, Don; a sister, Peggy Jacobs; 16 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren.
Private services will be held at the convenience of the family.
Original obituary link:
Tiger Tracks 